1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the art of refrigerators and, more specifically, to a slidable shelving assembly for a refrigerator.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
It is common to provide vertically adjustable shelves in refrigerator cabinets in order to increase the versatility of storing a wide range of food items. To this end, mainly fresh food compartments of refrigerators have elongated, vertically extending and laterally spaced rails mounted on rear walls thereof, with the rails enabling shelves to be supported in selected vertically adjustable positions in a cantilevered manner. In other arrangements, pegs or rails are attached to or integrally formed with compartment side walls of a refrigerator in order to support shelves thereon. Providing various sets of the pegs or rails at vertically spaced locations along the side walls permits a consumer to vertically reposition a given shelf as desired.
It has also been proposed in the art to enable shelves to be selectively slid partially out of a refrigerator compartment in order to enhance access to food items stored on rear portions of the shelves. Typically, with the case of cantilevered shelves, an overall shelf support frame must be provided to support a shelf both at the rear of the refrigerator compartment and for sliding movement relative to the support frame. In the case of shelves supported along the side walls of a refrigerator compartment, the shelves can relatively easily be enabled to slide directly upon at least side rails.
In supporting a sliding shelf within a refrigerator cabinet, it is necessary to provide structure to limit the permissible degree of sliding movement in order to prevent the shelf from simply sliding right out of the compartment. In the case of cantilevered shelves, this shift limiting structure acts between the shelf and the support frame. In the case of a side wall supported shelf, the shelf will coact either with one or more of the rails or additional structure attached to the respective side wall. In general, a laterally projecting member will be provided below the sliding shelf, with the projecting member abutting another fixed projection on the rail to limit the permissible sliding movement. When a shelf is formed from interconnected wires which generally form an open lattice similar to that employed in connection with oven racks, bent wires are generally located below the rails to define projecting members for limiting the degree of sliding, as well as to prevent tipping of the shelf.
Sliding cantilevered shelving systems almost invariably need to be spaced laterally inwardly from the compartment side walls more than shelves which are actually supported at the side walls. Therefore, shelves which are directly supported at the side walls typically exhibit an advantage in that the shelves can extend substantially the full width of the refrigerator compartment. The lateral spacing between the shelving and the side walls constitutes a zone where any spillage can leak within the refrigerator. To address this potential problem of spillage, it is has become quite common to encapsulate a shelf platform such that a raised peripheral rim is provided. Most typically, a glass shelf platform will be encapsulated about its periphery to advantageously prevent any spilled liquids or the like from running off the shelf. Unfortunately, when employed as full width shelves, such types of shelves have required either rather elaborate brackets and fasteners, or somewhat complicated molding techniques, in order to achieve characteristics corresponding to wire shelves in regards to slide and tip limiting structure.
Based on the above, there exists a need in the art for an improved arrangement for limiting the sliding movement, as well as preventing potential tipping, of a side wall supported, preferably full width, encapsulated shelf for a refrigerator.
The present invention is directed to an anti-tipping, and preferably slide limiting, arrangement for an encapsulated shelf of a refrigerator. The refrigerator includes a compartment including side walls provided with fore-to-aft extending shelf supporting rails. In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, the encapsulating structure for the shelf is formed with a pair of downwardly extending wing members, each having a transverse, threaded hole formed therein. A projection member, including an elongated shaft having a threaded section spaced from a tip portion, is provided for each wing member. The threaded section is received in the hole of a respective wing member and the tip portion extends beneath a respective one of the rails, thereby preventing tipping of the shelf. The tip portion is also adapted to engage structure on the rail in order to limit the permissible degree of sliding movement of the shelf along the rails.
With this arrangement, an encapsulated shelf is configured with efficient and effective anti-tipping and slide limiting structure which enables the shelf to be easily placed upon and removed from side wall support rails. Therefore, a full width, encapsulated shelf can be advantageously provided in a refrigerator without the need for supplemental brackets and the like. In any event, additional objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment when taken in conjunction with the drawings wherein like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts in the several views.